Producing a great blog that attracts the reader
s you want requires consistency, resourcefulness and creativity, day in and day out. The payoff? Higher traffic, loyal followers, better leads and if all goes according to plan, more customers. While there’s no one “right” way to guarantee a winning blog, there are some common traits that the most successful blogs out there share. Here are five of them:
- Authentic Useful Content
Teaching people through great content is the number one way to grow your blog. That doesn’t mean boring lectures or data-heavy posts. It means content that is relevant and useful to your audience presented in a way that is engaging, authentic, and shareable.
The most popular posts for sharing can be categorized as lists, how-to’s, infographics, and “what and why” posts. Some ideas to get you started:
- Offer solution-oriented content that shows your readers you understand their problems.
- Once in a great while, take a controversial stance.
- Stay on top of what’s trending in your field and be the first to write about it.
- Ask your readers what they want to know about.
- Understand Your Audience
A deep knowledge of your target audience is a must. You can’t write for them in an authentic way if you don’t understand their concerns or priorities. Use surveys and reader feedback to get ideas of where you can improve. Remember your blog is about your followers, not about you or your brand. Also, make sure your blog is easy to navigate it will keep people on your site longer which, in turn, increases the chance of conversion and sharing.
- Design Elements
Design or redesign your website with your ultimate objectives in mind. Who do you want to reach, and what do you want them to do? You can choose a bold graphic design or a sparse, just-the-content-please look for your blog, but be sure you create a user experience that actually works for your users!
The most successful blogs are focused on content, so yours should be designed for readability. White backgrounds are a design element most successful blogs share. Keep paragraphs short and tone conversational. Use sub-headlines and bullet points to make your posts easier to digest. And don’t forget an easy-to-spot search bar.
- Topic Tags
Think of topic tags as your blog’s glossary whose purpose is to make it easier for readers to find posts. Unless you have a plug-in configured to do so, do not mistake tags for meta keywords. And a word of caution – don’t overuse topic tags because search engines may analyze them as duplicate content.
- Network
Networking is more than social media. Audience engagement is where the real magic happens and where your community starts to take shape. Make your blog easy to find by:
- Consistently commenting on other blogs.
- Send out tweets of other bloggers’ posts with your own commentary.
- Actively seeking backlinks from high-quality, authoritative sites.
Social platforms still matter, of course, and are often the best way to get more shares.
If you’d like to learn more about how to create successful blogs to drive leads, call ADTACK at 702-270-8772 to schedule a free 30 minute marketing assessment.
